Denver’s first cannabis spa, Pure Elevations, opens in September

Denver’s first cannabis spa is almost ready to start serving locals R&R – as in reefer and relaxation.

When it opens on Sept. 14, Pure Elevations Canna-Spa & Salon (185 S. Santa Fe Drive) will be among the city’s first public consumption spaces, where guests who book a massage or pedicure will be able to smoke weed onsite before or after their appointment. The business will sell marijuana products from a small dispensary counter in its salon for guests to consume on the outdoor patio, and it will also integrate topicals into its services and treatments. That means THC- and CBD-infused massages for anyone who wants to get extra chill.

Owner Rebecca Marroquin’s unique concept was inspired by her own experience using cannabis lotions to help with pain. In 2011, Marroquin was preparing to finish school and become a massage therapist when she was involved in a car crash that broke her neck. Four months of using infused topicals had her back on track to graduate.

Marroquin is now hoping to offer Denverites similarly therapeutic experiences and show there’s more to cannabis than simply getting high.

Pure Elevations features four rooms – three for singles and one for couples – where guests can get a massage or body scrub, a salon with manicure and pedicure stations, and an area for hair stylists specializing in African-American techniques like braiding and fashion coloring.

Additionally, the spa will serve coffee and pre-packaged snacks, and patrons can order food for delivery to enjoy alongside their marijuana products on the outdoor consumption patio.

“We’re just trying to get a good vibe in here,” Marroquin said.

The vibes may be on point now, but it’s been a long time coming. Marroquin originally hoped to open Pure Elevations in April, but construction plus the additional challenges of integrating marijuana into her business model delayed that timeline. She sold her previous massage studio and went all in on Pure Elevations – a process that’s been “fun, exciting, stressful, and been everything in between,” she said with emotion welling up in her eyes.